CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS | At MADRID | REAL MADRID

UEFA Champions League Groups action tonight with ATLETICO DE MADRID at home hosting BAYERN LEVERKUSEN & REAL MADRID away facing Turkish Club GALATASARAY. Here is a brief summary of the main events, goalscorers & the final results.

Above is the starting XI for Atletico de Madrid, a team without Felix Joao who was injured this weekend thus opening a space up for Herreria,  & Angel Correa getting a start.

The first 45 minutes were somewhat bland with nothing really outstanding. Atletico de Madrid began trying to put on the turbo but fizzled out after a number of goal occasions. From there both followed their plans until they reached the half whistle. Lack of imagination on both teams.

With things looked the same as the 1º half Atletico needed to move things if they were to shake off the rocky German team. Coach Simeone put on Alvaro Morata & it paid off. In the 78th min LODI crossed & found his teammate MORATA who headed in the eventual winning goal. 

An important & very worked victory for Atletico de Madrid.

FINAL RESULT: ATLETICO DE MADRID 1 - BAYERN LEVERKUSEN 0

GALATASARAY hosted REAL MADRID which put forward the above starting XI. Midfielder Valverde & young Brazilian Rodrygo got a start, both played well.

It was a must win situation for Real Madrid, while a black cloud was also hovering the head of Coach Zidane. The Spanish Club started well but quickly fell into old habits allowing spaces in defense & opportunities for the Turks. Real Madrid goalie COURTOIS made two (three) very important saves to keep his team alive. However, Real Madrid reacted in the 18th min when HAZARD found TONI KROOS who shot through the ball with deflection into the net. 

From here until the end of the game Real Madrid looked to seal things with a second goal that did not come. They tried, 22 attempts at goal & hit a cross bar from Hazard, this basically summed up the Real Madrid night. Not being able to shut things allowed Galatasaray to attempt the draw & they had their occasions to do just this while Real Madrid was at times risking.

In the end a vital victory away, a sigh of relief for Zidane & more breathing space for Real Madrid to fine tune their goal opportunities & their overall game.

FINAL RESULT: GALATASARAY 0 REAL MADRID 1

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | REAL MADRID - AT MADRID RESULTS

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE tonight with REAL MADRID CF playing at home & ATLETICO DE MADRID located in Moscow (Russia) for their Group matches. Here is a brief summary of the main events at both games, along with goalscorers & the final results.

REAL MADRID hosted Belgium Club BRUGGE in match that was important for the Spaniards to get a positive result. Above is the REAL MADRID starting XI (image) which would later suffered changes, some that will open up speculation & debate.

REAL MADRID started terribly with a Brugge opening goal in the 9th min in silly circumstances that again puts in doubt the Spanish defence & goalkeeper COURTOIS. It was a clear sign that things were not to go the way of the locals as they attacked to create chances but failed to convert. Real Madrid would pay the price for missing chances with the second Brugge goal in the 39th min. Again childish mistakes in defence, a stumbling goal that put in doubt once again COURTOIS. Tonight Keylor Navas was dearly missed & the home crowd voiced this opinion. 

A shocker of a first half with Real Madrid looking at the "barrel of the elimination gun". A loss tonight would make it uphill for the rest of the qualifiers & extremely difficult to pass onto the next Rounds. Real danger moments.

Real Madrid Coach Zidane reacted by substituting COURTOIS for AREOLA & NACHO for MARCELO. The second half was to be "do or die" stuff to avoid possible future problems in Champions League. Real Madrid attacked & kept running into the Belgium team defensive wall. The frustration & anxiety was creeping into the Madrid game & the crowd was sensing that a disaster was about to come upon them.

However, Real reacted with a goal in the 55th min through a RAMOS header from a Benzema pass. Later Brugge defending solidly allowed their aggressiveness to take the better of them & their Captain VORMER saw double yellow cards & was sent off. From an associated free-kick CASEMIRO scored the second & draw for Real Madrid in the 85th min. 

End & final result a draw, with Real Madrid on the edge of the abyss up till the 85th minute. A bad result for the Spanish Club but it could have been worst, a defend & zero points in the Group with a very dark Champions League future.

FINAL RESULT & GOALSCORERS:


Real Madrid 2 Brugge 2
0 - 1 (9')  Dennis Bonaventure
0 - 2 (39') Dennis Bonaventure
1 - 2 (55') Sergio Ramos
2 - 2 (85') Casemiro

ATLETICO DE MADRID travelled to Moscow to play LOKOMOTIV for their Group match. Above is the starting XI team for Atletico (image).

Relatively controlled game by Atletico de Madrid taking the initiative early while Lokomotiv was comfortable defending & looking to counter-attack. Atletico created their chances, especially Diego Costa from a corner & Morata who had an opportunity. The first half ended 0 - 0

In the second half Atletico picked up a notch & scored in the 48th min through youngster FELIX JOAO. The momentum kept going for the Spaniards who scored their second through THOMAS in the 58th min.

Lokomotiv had a clear chance to score in the 73rd min with Krychowiak but Atletico goalkeeper OBLAK made a fabulous save.

Well deserved & important victory for Atletico de Madrid away.

FINAL RESULT:
LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW 0 ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULTS | REAL MADRID - AT MADRID

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE continued tonight with the remaining Group matches. Two Spanish Clubs were down for action, REAL MADRID & ATLETICO DE MADRID. Here is a brief summary of the main events along with the goalscorers & the final results.

REAL MADRID travelled to France to play PARIS ST GERMAIN with the following starting XI for the visitors (see image):

Real Madrid CF ended the first half with two goals down thanks to PSG midfielder Angel Di Maria. DI MARIA was inspired in the goal area and his opportunities went into the back of the net. The two goals in the 14th min & 33rd min come out of his left boot. Real Madrid did have their occasions especially through their Best player JAMES who came close a couple of times. Also a GARETH BALE Goal in the 36th min was disallowed after the VAR called it a hand-ball. 

An uphill position after 45 mins for Real Madrid, & that is with PSG without Mbappe, Neymar & Cavani.

The second half was not better for Real Madrid as Paris St Germain continued to create the goal opportunities. The Spanish Club looked slow, predictable & impotent against a French team that was more determined & looked as if they had ideas.

Real Madrid Coach Zidane brought on Vazquez, Dovic & Vinicius in an attempt to shake things & pull some goals back, but nothing, ineffective. The fact is that PSG managed to score their 3rd goal through MEUNIER in the 91 st min.

Lastly, disappointing the performance of Gareth Bale who intervened little, but so did many of his team-mates.

Great win for Paris St Germain.

FINAL RESULT: PARIS ST GERMAIN 3 REAL MADRID 0

ATLETICO DE MADRID hosted JUVENTUS FC in their Group D match. Above is the Atletico de Madrid starting XI team.

Atletico de Madrid & Juventus put forward an attractive, open and end to end first 45 mins. At Madrid had more ball dominance in the rival area. Atletico midfielder Joao Felix had clear chances along with defender Gimenez who pardoned a corner opportunity. All the Juventus attacks passed through Cristiano Ronaldo who created chances but was solidly meet by Atleti goalie OblaK. Great first half with the only thing missing a Goal.

The second half was as entertaining as the first 45 min. This time around the Italians took control & scored two goals straight through CUADRADO in the 48th min & MATUIDI in the 65th min. Just when it looked like the night would turn into a disaster for Atletico de Madrid the team reached deep & pulled out their fighting spirit. Atletico defender SAVIC scored in the 70th min & HERRERA scored the equalizer in the 90th min to blow the roof off the stadium. 

Share points & just result. 

FINAL RESULT: ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 JUVENTUS FC 2

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUPS 2019-2020

UEFA kicked off officially its season with the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group draw celebrated this afternoon/evening in Monaco. The results for Spanish Football Clubs are shown below. All 4 Spanish representatives have very difficult teams & thus Groups, with Atletico de Madrid & FC Barcelona as prime examples.

GROUP A
Paris St Germain
Real Madrid CF
Brujas
Galatasaray

GROUP D
Juventus FC
Atletico de Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Lokomotiv Moscow

GROUP F
FC Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund
Inter de Milán
Slavia de Praga

GROUP H
Chelsea FC
Ajax Amsterdam
Valencia CF
Lille

Spanish Football was represented in the individual Awards by LIONEL MESSI who won BEST FORWARD.

UEFA BEST FORWARD SEASON 2018-2019
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)


UEFA PLAYER OF THE SEASON 2018 - 2019
1.Virgil Van Dijk (HOL/Liverpool)
2.Lionel Messi (ARG/ FC Barcelona)
3.Cristiano Ronaldo (POR/Juventus)
4 Alisson Becker (BRA/Liverpool) 57 pts.
5 Sadio Mane (SEN/Liverpool) 51.
6 Mohamed Salah (EGY/Liverpool) 49.
7 Eden Hazard (BEL/Chelsea-Real Madrid) 38.
8 Matthijs de Ligt (HOL/Ajax-Juventus) 27.
8 Frenkie de Jong (HOL/Ajax-Barcelona) 27

10 Raheem Sterling (ENG/Manchester City) 12
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LIVERPOOL FC 4 FC BARCELONA 0 | (4-3 AGG) CHAMPIONS SEMI-FINAL RESULT

Historical night of UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Football & for English Club LIVERPOOL FC after managing to turn around the semi-final from an away 0 - 3 aggregate deficit to a hammering 4 - 0 victory over FC BARCELONA at Anfield. The final result is a 4-3 aggregate semi-final ticket for Liverpool FC which goes onto the Madrid Champions League Final against tomorrow's winner from the Ajax-Tottenham semi.

Everything was against Liverpool FC, a deficit of 3 goals from the 1º leg game plus injuries to star players SALAH & FIRMINO. Coach Klopp put forward the above starting 11 with huge pressure on lesser names like ORIGI & SHAQIRI.

FC BARCELONA put forward their starting 11 which was basically the same team as in the 1º st leg match. They felt confident, but as we were to witness the ghost of the past & of AC ROMA returned to hover over them again tonight.

LIVERPOOL FC had a clear plan, take the initiative, pressure up front, force mistakes & pull from emotion. This latter part was supplied by the home crowd which was their 12th man tonight with non-stop chanting & support. The dream become a possible reality when a Jordi Alba mistake lead to the Liverpool FC opener through ORIGI in the 7th min.

Liverpool FC looked for more goals but their overzealous adventures upfront nearly cost them goals. But there was - for me - the MAN OF THE MATCH, Liverpool goalkeeper ALISSON who made 4 crucial & match turning saves tonight, three of them in the 1st half.

The first 45 min ended with Barça controlling the best they could the English "fire" & it seemed they would continue to do so in the 2ºnd half. However, all to the contrary, LIVERPOOL overran Barça with two quick goals - again Barça defensive mistakes - through substitute GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM in the 54th & 56nd min. Liverpool suddenly had their dream in their hands as FC Barcelona were rattled & seeing the nightmare of AC ROMA returning to haunt them again.

Barça Coach Valverde reacted making changes by putting on Semedo for Coutinho, moving Sergi Roberto into midfield & taking off Barça´s best until then ARTURO VIDAL for Arthur.
Then the miracle appeared from a corner that could all the Barça defense wrong footed finding ORIGI alone to hammer home his 2nd & the 4th for Liverpool FC in the 79th min. The English Club  was now winning the semifinales tie & had a foot in the upcoming final.

Liverpool FC then held their winning advantage with tooth, nails & blood holding off Barça in their desperate attacks until the referee finally blew the whistle to give Liverpool the victory. Absolutely historical achievement for Liverpool FC, a night they will never forget.

As for Barcelona a disaster. There worst match possible with the big names disappearing at the crucial moments. Too many defensive errores, especially Alba, & perhaps a bit too much overconfidence coming into this match. With their elimination Spanish Football loses their only representative which is a big negative after so many years of European domination. 

FINAL RESULT: LIVERPOOL FC 4 - FC BARCELONA 0 | LIVERPOOL WINS SEMIFINAL ON A 4-3 AGGREGRATE RESULT

Congratulations to Liverpool FC, good luck in the upcoming Champions League Final.

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FC BARCELONA 3 MANCHESTER UNITED 0 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA Champions League Quarter Final 2º leg match tonight with FC BARCELONA hosting MANCHESTER UNITED in a 0-1 away goal advantage & victory from the 1º leg away game. Here is a brief summary of the main events along with the goalscorers & the final result.

FC BARCELONA started with the above 11 names.

MANCHESTER UNITED started with the above 11 names.

Manchester United started well dominating the first 5 minutes but from then things went terribly wrong. An 11 th min penalty called on Rakitic but disallowed by the "VAR" was the "alarm bell". This was followed shortly by a horrible attempt to get the ball out of defence by Young that allowed MESSI to take possession of the ball, escape defenders & score for FC Barcelona in the 16th min. Things got even worse when a shot at goal by MESSI went beneath the body of Manchester United goalie DAVID DE GEA in the 19th min. A shocker, & its not the first time DE GEA has sinned in this manner, one recalls against Portugal while goalkeeping for Spain in the last World Cup when a Ronaldo shot & it also went beneath the body.

With a 2 - 0 scoreline things were uphill for Manchester United while FC Barcelona calm things down to a pace that was more suitable to their style . Barça continued looking for more goals & nearly found a 3rd when Messi again did his magic & found Sergi Roberto whose shot was this time saved by De Gea. 

The second half was a copy of the first. Man Utd started more intensely looking to create some opportunities & find some luck. However, their efforts faded in the 61st min when Barça midfielder COUTINHO shot from outside the area into the net for Barça´s 3rd goal. There was nothing De Gea could do about it. Manchester United Coach Ole Solskjær moved the bench with Kukaku & Alexis coming on with the latter having a clear occasion in the 90th min which Barça goalie Ter Stegen stopped brilliantly. Just not Manchesters United´s night.

FINAL RESULT: FC BARCELONA 3 - MANCHESTER UNITED 0 (4-0 AGGREGATE)

Conclusions, Barca too strong tonight, neutralized Manchester Utd & a was steps above in quality. The English team made some terrible mistakes & paid dearly as habitual at this level of Football. Midfielder POGBA disappointed greatly & puts a question mark over his head about why all the fuss with Real Madrid wishing to sign the Frenchman.

LIONEL MESSI was the key, the man of the match & the driver of his team, two goals & just brilliant. Great match from Rakitic, Lenglet, Jordi Alba, Pique & company.

FC Barcelona now moves onto the Champions League semi-finals stage & are looking good. 

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MANCHESTER UTD 0 FC BARCELONA 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA Champions League moves into the Quarter Final phase & continues tonight with the only Spanish Football representative FC BARCELONA travelling to "Old Trafford" to play MANCHESTER UNITED in the 1º leg away game. Here is a brief summary of the main events along with the goalscorers & the final result.

As we can see above FC BARCELONA starts the match with the 11 mentioned names. No surprises here really, goes in with their "big guns".

As in the image we can see the starting 11 team for MANCHESTER UNITED. 

A 1ºst half relatively comfortable for FC BARCELONA which showed their habitual ball domination style Football. Manchester United waited more in their own area to attempt to find a counter-attack or force errores in the midfield on the Barça players.

Barça struck first on the 12th min when LUIS SUAREZ headed in his teams goal & opener that was later given by UEFA as an own goal by defender SHAW. The English Team had some occasion from Rashford who was active but not dangerous at all. The contrary from the Barça perspective which nearly got a second goal had Man Utd goalie DE GEA not stopped magnificently a Coutinho effort.

FC Barcelona would have been pleased with their first 45 min as they managed the prized & advantageous away goal that assures some ease for the second half of the game.

The second half saw a more intense & determined Manchester United looking to equalize the encounter. They created  a few occasions but without true effectivity, plus the English team did manage to put Barça on the back foot until Barça Coach Valverde decided to make some moves. Barça took of two attacking midfielders (Coutinho & Artur) to put muscle in their place with Vidal & Sergi Roberto which helped Barça regain control.

The rest of the game was Man Utd placing long balls & looking for some luck, while Barcelona neutralized the English efforts & accepted the away goal win to take back to Barcelona.

FINAL RESULT: MANCHESTER UNITED 0 FC BARCELONA 1

Good game for the Spaniards who have the advantage although the tie is far from shut.

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FC BARCELONA 5 OLYMPIQUE LYON 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA Champions League action tonight with the last remaining Spanish Club in the competition. FC BARCELONA hosted OLYMPIQUE DE LYON with the tie totally open as the 1ºst leg result from France was a 0 - 0 draw. FC Barcelona was warned to be alert & fully concentrated as they had the precedents of Real Madrid & Atletico de Madrid, both with positive results from their 1ºst leg games but both eliminated after their return encounters.

Here is a brief summary of events, goalscorers & the final result.

Above is the FC BARCELONA starting 11 team line-up.

Above is the starting 11 line-up for Olympique de Lyon

Overall a relative comfortable night & good performance for Barça. The first half saw some Lyon attempts that were fairly well neutralized, but it was Barcelona which scored first when Luis Suarez was fouled in the penalty area. A controversial penalty was awarded - did not look like a penalty - that LIONEL MESSI converted in the 17th min.

Lyon then lost their goalie Lopes half way through the match & COUTINHO scored the second for Barça in the 31st min. Things looked at this stage well by halftime.

However, the second half turned into a complicated situation when LYON scored in the 58th min through TOUSARD, the French were back with a chance to turn things around to their favour & Barça got nervous.  Lyon had their moments & Barça passed through a difficult period, but Barça Coach Valverde moved the bench moving the pieces around & LIONEL MESSI made his appearance to calm things for his team. FC Barcelona scored their third goal in the 78th min through LIONEL MESSI taking the spirit & wind out of the Lyon sails.

From here it was Barça which took over & shut the door with a fourth goal by PIQUE in the 80th min & a fifth goal in the 86th min through DEMBELE

Goalscorers:

1 - 0 (17')(P.) Messi
2 - 0 (31') Coutinho
2 - 1 (58') Tousard
3 - 1 (78') Messi
4 - 1 (80') Pique
5 - 1 (86') Dembele

FINAL RESULT : FC BARCELONA 5 - OLYMPIQUE DE LYON 1 (5-1 AGG)

FC Barcelona eliminates Lyon & qualifies for the Q/Finals of the Champions League. They are the only Spanish Club that remains in the competition. 

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JUVENTUS 3 ATLETICO DE MADRID 0 (3-2 AGG) | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE tonight with ATLETICO DE MADRID taking a  2- 0 advantage from their 1º leg home match against JUVENTUS FC to Turin & attempt to finish the job. The end result was not the expected or planned for by the Spanish Club which witnessed a comeback effort from the Italians taking the final result 3 - 0 & thus eliminating Atletico de Madrid on a 3  - 2 aggregate result.

Here is a brief summary with the goal scorer...of all three goals.

ATLETICO DE MADRID started with the above 11. The inclusion of Lemar made everyone think that Atletico would put aside their natural defensive nature & look to score. This turned out to be an illusion.

JUVENTUS FC went into this match with the above 11, with CRISTIANO RONALDO super motivated believing in his team & a comeback. He was to become vital in his team's victory. 

The Italians started strong forcing Atletico to defend, it was to signal the trend for the rest of the match. A superb attacking left back SPINAZZOLA, PJANIC dominating play, right back CANCELO being an open alternative option, BERNARDESCHI a constant danger, CHIELLINI & BONUCCI cleaning up the loose ends & CRISTIANO RONALDO scoring 3 goals - A HAT TRICK - as he predicted before the match.

Things were crystal clear in the 4th min when the VAR cancelled a goal by Chellini from a Ronaldo foul on goalie Oblak. Not deterred Juventus FC kept going after their objective.

Atletico de Madrid may have wanted to score the vital away goal but its not in their DNA to attack. In fact their player midfield profile is not creative or with much ideas. Upfront Morata was neutralized & the other forward Griezmann was everywhere except in the goal square area. The man to give Atletico spark upfront Lemar spend all his time defending, this was the script for tonight's show. Said conclusively, Atletico de Madrid looked nothing at all like the 1º leg match, as did Juventus FC which instead turned the who tie 360º degrees to their favour. 

The man of the match was CRISTIANO RONALDO who earned his transfer & paycheck tonight proving again that he is a "BIG TIME PLAYER". The Portuguese scored a HAT TRICK - two from headers & a penalty:

1 - 0 (26') Cristiano Ronaldo
2 - 0 (48') Cristiano Ronaldo
3- 0  (86')  Cristiano Ronaldo, p

He was aptly supported by his competent & focused team-mates. Tonight is the reason why Juventus signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, to flip things over to their favour in times of difficulties, an asset pivotal for the Champions League competition. Having observed tonight's game I would dare to proclaim that JUVENTUS are definitely my favourite Club to win Champions League this year.

As for Atletico another failure, & yes under Coach Simeone. The Argentine Coach cannot jump the "BIG MOMENTS" hurdle. Simeone has again been demystified showing more doubts than inspiration. Tonight there was no grabbing his genitals instead he received a solid kick by the Italians between the legs.

In a nutshell, extremely disappointing performance from the Atletico Coach for his lack of ideas & from most of the players which were overwhelmed by the occasion. Difficult to understand how the Spanish Club could squander a 2 goal advantage in tonight's fashion.

Congratulations to Juventus FC, deserved victory & good luck for the rest of the competition. 

Tomorrow its Spanish Club FC BARCELONA turn against LYON...same story? Stay tuned. 

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REAL MADRID 1 AJAX AMSTERDAM 4 (3-5 AGG)| CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

REAL MADRID CF took its 1º leg Champions League 1-2 advantage back to their home Stadium "Santiago Bernabeu" to play tonight the 2º leg away game against AJAX OF AMSTERDAM. The end result was a horror night for the Spanish Club which was overrun from the beginning to finally lose the game 1 - 4 & be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League 3 - 5 on aggregate. 

Above is the starting 11 of the Real Madrid team.

Above is the starting 11 of the Ajax team.

AJAX OF AMSTERDAM had a very clear game plan, exploit their pace with very accurate & efficient counter-attacks. The Dutch would allow the Spanish team to play in their area & with every mistake, missed goal chance or error pounce with deadly surgical precision with overwhelming men in the Real Madrid goal area. Simple. So basic that this strategy was utilized the whole match with Real Madrid not being able to halt the Dutch or find an antidote.

Finding a solution from REAL MADRID would always be difficult if the team is down psychologically for a string off important local League defeats, NOT ABLE to score goals & two injuries to Lucas vazquez & Vinicius JR in the first 30 minutes of play. This is not an excuse, it just highlights that tonight was going to be a nightmare, the worst dream possible for Real Madrid. 

Real Madrid missed goals, hit the post a couple of times & within their growing frustration came the silly mistakes. A terrible TONI KROOS back passed lead to the first goal of Ajax which ZIYECH scored in the 7th min, a deep & fast counter in the 18th min allowed NERES to score the second, this shook Real Madrid. 

The nerves took over, the frustration set in & the local supporters turned on their team in disbelief. However, Ajax kept to their game plan while Real Madrid failed to react or counter their hosts. Forced to attack Madrid had to look for goals, REAL MADRID in doing so "allowed AJAX" to exercise more often the counter-attack, & this is what happened.

Real Madrid started strong in the 2º half but once again without goal effectiveness, the opportunities were created but no one to score the goals. Reality finally made it clear, if you exit a player that gives you 40-50 goals (+10 in Champions) like Cristiano Ronaldo per season, you need to replace that asset with someone similar or spread the goal scoring across players. Its mathematics. Luck finally ran out tonight.

Ajax quickly regained the situation & continued with their work. The third goal came in the 62nd min from TADIC after a long consultation with VAR over a possible over the sideline ball beforehand. At this stage Real Madrid was rattled, but managed to get a glimpse of hope when finally ASENSIO managed to pull one back for Real in the 70th min. But, this was a horror movie for the locals tonight & from a free-kick SCHONE surprised goalie COURTOIS to score the 4th goal in the 72nd min, secure the victory & passage for Ajax into the next stage of the Champions League.

Things got absurd & surreal when Benzema slipped in front of goal to miss a sitter & GARETH BALE injured his ankle towards the end. Not only had REAL MADRID lost tonight, they get eliminated from Champions League & lost 3 key players to injury: Vazquez, Vinicius & Bale. But the terror week was more definitive: in 7 days, just in a week, Real Madrid has been eliminated from the Spanish Cup, lost twice at home to FC Barcelona (with loss of options in the race of La Liga title) & eliminated from Champions League. Basically their season has ended tonight. Ironic, tragic & perhaps bad luck, but the poor planning of pre-season & the unavailability of signing a competent center forward has hit hard.

For Ajax, a great night & excellent historic display & victory. They deserved to move forward into Champions League to keep their chances alive. Young, fast & dedicated players that showed great maturity & calmness. Well done.

Real Madrid? Well, avalanche of criticisms forthcoming, players will be signalled out, Coach Solari can say goodbye to his Coaching position next season... a revolution is in the horizon. Will be interesting to see how things develop & who gets the boot. Stay tuned!  

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AT MADRID 2 JUVENTUS FC 0 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA Champions League continued tonight with the much anticipated clash between two favourites, ATLETICO DE MADRID and JUVENTUS FC. Here is a summary of the main events, along with the goalscorers & the final result.

Atletico de Madrid started with the above 11 team, it included the return of midfielder Koke & forward Diego Costa.

Juventus FC went into this game with the above starting 11 missing Khedira who stayed in Turin undergoing medical check over a heart complaint detected a few days back.

The first half was even with few goal opportunities to note, except a long range Cristiano Ronaldo free kick stopped by Oblak & a Griezmann free kick stopped by Juventus goalie Szczesny. The match swayed between both teams as Atletico started strong & later Juve regained the upper hand. The game was intense with Atletico showing their habitual physical approach to their Football & while Juve was solid in their defending.

The second half was all Atletico de Madrid which decided to go after the game leaving aside some of the tactical discipline. The goal opportunities came early with DIEGO COSTA on his own missing a sitter, that was followed few minutes later with GRIEZMANN hitting the bar.

Atletico de Madrid Coach Simeone decided to make some changes that surprised by there offensive nature. Alvaro Morata came on for Costa, Lemar came on for Tomas & later Correa for Koke...all 3 are forwards.

Atletico was putting Juventus FC on the back foot & in the 70th min MORATA headed in a goal that was later cancelled by a VAR decision, it seemed he pushed Chellini before heading. But the signs were there that more was to come. It did, in the 78th min when Atletico defender GIMENEZ scoped a loose ball in the little square to score the opener. The second goal would come in 84th min when another defender GODIN shot to goal getting a deflection off Cristiano Ronaldo that went into the net.

The Italians attempted a late reaction to at least try for an away goal but Atletico goal Oblak made an outstanding save from a Bernardeschi attempt, & Ronaldo failed a header a half chance towards to end. 

FINAL RESULT: ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 - JUVENTUS FC 0

Finish off with a mention about the grand perform by Atletico defender GODIN who was outstanding tonight in defence & showing his leadership qualities.

Now it's back to Turin for the second leg match which could be a cliffhanger as Juventus attempts to turn things around. However, Atletico has a healthy & well earned advantage.

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FC BARCELONA OLYMPIQUE LYON | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA Champions League is back on stage this week with two Spanish Football Clubs down for action. Tomorrow Atletico de Madrid hosts Juventus Fc, while tonight FC BARCELONA has travelled to Lyon to face Olympique. 

Here is a summary of the main events of the Barça-Lyon game, along with goalscorers & the final result.

FC BARCELONA went into this game with the needed respect to attempt to avoid surprises & put forward the best available starting 11 as seen above. Olympique is young, brave & rapid which has Barça on alert & knowing that this is a potential "danger match". 

Great entertaining first 45 minutes with an open and end to end Football game along with goal opportunities going to both teams. FC Barcelona was slightly more superior the first half over Lyon, but the French team had the clearer goal chances. Barça goalie Ter Stegen had to work while Barça midfielder Sergi Busquets had a great goal opportunity towards to final part of the half that was not to be. Overall very even first 45 minutes.

The 2º half saw a more determined FC Barcelona looking to score the important away goal. The Spanish team created plenty of opportunities & could have done damage to Lyon, but lacked goal. In fact, LUIS SUAREZ had some very clear opportunities in front of goal of which he could not finish off. The Uruguayan is going through a "bad streak" in front of goal & tonight he was clearly visibly  frustrated. 

FINAL RESULT 0 - 0 

The elimination is wide open with the return match soon at Barcelona to decide the outcome. 

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